Piston ring compressor



pr M, H936. JA SUNNEN PIsToN RING COMPRESSOR Filed June 4, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l /N VEA/rae. Joss/DH 5UNNEN.

r'ro 2Min Patented Apr. 14, 1,936

clair-sp Ari' 5 Claims.

My invention has relation to improvements in piston ring compressors and it consists in the novel features ofv construction more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

The object of the invention is to provide a compressor which may beapplied to a piston over the piston ring for compressing said rings into their grooves to enable the piston together with the rings to be readilyinserted into an enginecylinder. A further object is to provide a compressor in the general form of a band that when applied will not assume a cone shape and thus allow the rings to expand out oftheir grooves.,

A still further object of the invention is to provide a ring compressor that'is simple land easy of application. I t is alsoan object of the invention to form the compressor in such a manner that it is readily adaptable to different sizes of pistons and will compress the rings of a large piston and the rings of a small piston with equal facility.

The manner of accomplishing these objects, as well as votlier advantages inherent in the invention, ,will bebetter'i'apparent from la detailed description of the same in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:V n

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a piston, the rings of which are held in compression by my improved compressorwhich has' just 'beenapplied the applicatortherefore being still inplace; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the compressor and applicator, the` piston being shown in crosssection, Ythe combined section being indicated by the line 2 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a piston with the compressor applied thereto'and the applicator removed; Fig. 4 is a plan View of the applicator with the parts in position for engagement with the ring compressor for the pur- 'pose of Vapplying the same to a piston; 5 is a bottom plan of the applicator with the parts in the same relative' positions as shown in Fig. 4; Fig. '6 is a topplan of a piston with my improved ring compressoriapplied thereto; Fig. 7 is a side 4elevation of' a piston with the ring compressor applied turnedthrough an angle at degrees frorn'the side elevation shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 8

is `a perspective view 'of the ring compressor with Y the endsfof the band disconnected and spread apart for the purpose of showing the construction to a better advantage; Fig. 9 is an end view of a piston vshowing a modified form of ring Acompressorapplied thereto; Fig. 10 is a side elevation of a piston and said modified form "of compressor thereon looking toward the (Cl. :Z9-86.4)

Referring to the drawings, TP represents an:

engine piston, the rings r of which are being held compressed within the ring grooves by means of my improved ring compressor C which hasljust been applied thereto by means of a special tool which I choose to call an applicator A, which tool is removed, of course, before the piston is in' *i serted intofthe enginecylinder, `to bev more fully described hereinafter. yMy improved ring'come pressorv will probably be more easily understood if I describe the'compresso andthe applicator separately.

The ring co band i bent into a 'general 'circular shape, 'one end of which Ahas on its lower edge (with reference tothe position 'o'f the band on theA piston)r a laterally projectir'iglug 2. A short distance removed from the lug 2 two ridges 3, 3 are formed in the "pressor `C comprises a metallic" band in spacedrelation, the formation of which provides channels 4, `li on the inside ofthe band. The upper part of the ridge 3' is cut away to provide a clearance for the'applicator (as we shall see hereafter) which leaves a notch 11, in the band above the ridge 3. A short 'stud 5 is passed through anv opening inl the middle of ridge 3', the rectangular head 6 of which nests within the channel ll and the outer end 5 of v.vvhicah is riveted over to preventthe removal of nut 1, but allowing said nut sufficient movement so that it may be loosened. The upper edge of band l is crimped outwardly at two points 8, r8 in spaced relation, said crimps being so located that they will come opposite to the overlapping ends of theA band when it is in place on a piston (Fig. 6).

The upper end 9 of the band l is reduced in width and has a slot l0 formed in it, whichslot terminates at its outer extremity in an enlarged portion It for the purpose of receiving the nut l when the ends of the band are brought together in operative relation, during which it is necessary to slide the stud 5 through the slot lil in tightening the band. about the piston rings 'r. The application tool for the ring compressor, which I have termed an applicator A, comprises a base plate I2 relatively stationary and a draft member comprising a plate I3. The base plate I2 has a longitudinal slot M, and the draft member I3 has a confining plate I5 and a draft plate I6 secured in spaced relation by a post I1 and shouldered sleeve I8 mounted thereon. The confining plate I5 lies flat against one side of the base plate I2 and has a recess I9 at one end, on each side of which are confining fingers 20, 20 bent slightly away from the base plate I2. Between the confining fingers 29, 2i! is a tongue 2| bent inwardly so as to enter the slot I4 in the base plate I2. The draft plate I6 is held in spaced relation with the confining plate I5 by a washer 22 mounted on the shouldered portion 23 of sleeve I8 and bearing against the base plate I2, and a spring washer 24 bearing against the draft plate I6 and head I8 of the sleeve I8. The shouldered portion 23 of the sleeve I8 traverses the slot I4 in the base plate l2. A set screw 25 and washer 26 hold the sleeve on the post I1. One end of the draft plate I6 is provided with a nger 21 adapted to operate in the slot I 4 of the base plate, and the other end of the base plate is bent outwardly to provide a nger piece 28 against which pressure may be exerted in order to rock the said draft plate and depress the nf ger 21, as will more fully hereinafter appear.

The post I1 has a head 29 which bears against the confining plate I5, which head is provided with a tapped opening 3l! for the threaded shank 3| of an adjusting handle 32. The base plate I2 has an extension 33 at the end that engages the ring compressor and a flange 34 at the other end. There is a tapped boss 35 on the flange 34 through which the threaded shank 3l passes. It will be observed that there are two threads of opposite hand on the shank, one passing through the boss 34 on the relatively fixed base plate I3 and the other passing through the head 29 of post I1 on the movable draft member I3.

In the operation of my improved ring cornpressor the ends of the band are adjusted so that the stud 5 is just at the outer end Vof the slot I [I whereupon the applicator A is brought into engagement with the band. This is done by tilting the draft plate I6 so as to depress the finger 21 until it lies in a plane below the inner surface of the base plate l2. The end 9 of the band may now be slipped into the space between the base plate and confining ngers 20, 20 of the confining plate I5 and the draft plate released so that the finger 21 will enter the enlargement Ill' of slot Ill. If the operator now rotates the handle 32 the screw shank 3l will cause the base plate I2 and draft member I3 to be relatively moved so that the ends of the confining fingers 29, 29 and the draft finger 21 will separate. In this separation the ends I 2', I 2 of base plate I2 will bear against ridge 3 and the draft finger 21 will pull on the end 9 of the band I, thus contracting the band and compressing the piston rings confined by the band. When the piston rings have been compressed entirely within their grooves the nut 1 is tightened so as to hold the band securely in its compressed condition, whereupon the applicator may be released by rotating the handle 32 in the opposite direction to remove the tension from the parts of the applicator and then rocking the draft plate so as to release the draft finger 21 from the end 9 of the band I. It is, of course, essential that the crimped portions 8, 8 of the band be at the top of the piston so that when the piston is pushed through the band into the cylinder these crimped portions will bear against the face of the cylinder block making it impossible for the band I to enter the cylinder. During the contraction of the band upon the piston rings it is impossible for the band to spread outwardly at its upper edge into a cone shape because the ends of the band are confined against axial movement by the lug 2 and the slot I0.

In the modification shown in Figs. 9 to 13, inclusive, the ring compressor comprises a band 50, the ends 5I, 52 of which are adapted to be overlapped to form the band in a general circular shape. The end 5I is provided with an inclined marginal flange 53 and has its upper edge recessed a short distance inwardly from the end, as shown at 54, and its lower edge recessed, as indicated at 55, inwardly from the end approximately twice the extent of the recess 54. The lower edge of the end 52 of the band is provided with two outwardly projecting lugs 56 and 51, the former being at the end of the band, and the latter being spaced inwardly a short distance therefrom. The upper edge of the band also has a lug 58 opposite to the lug 51. It is to be remembered that when referring to upper and lower edges of the band reference is made to the piston P that the band encircles, that edge which comes opposite the top of the piston being referred to as the upper edge, and the other edge, of course, being the lower edge.

The band 5l] is provided with a second ange 59 (in the present instance crimped in the metal), said flange 59 being spaced a distance equal to about one-third the length of the band from the end 52 and inclined so that when the ends 5l and 52 are in overlapping relation (Figs. 9 and l0) the flanges 53 and 59 will diverge downwardly of the band. In'order to draw the band tightly aro-und the piston rings within the ring grooves of a piston, I provide what may be termed a wedge-plate 60 of arcuate contour, the side mar-V gins of the plate being oppositely inclined and terminating in inwardly bent flanges 6I, 62 for the purpose of providing grooves 63, 64 to receive the flanges 53 and 59 respectively on the band 50. In order to give a Wide range of adjustability to the ring compressor so that it will operate with equal facility on a wide range of piston sizes, the wedgeplate 60 is formed in two sections 65 and 66, the former being a good deal wider than the latter and having three rows of slots s, s and s for receiving angle-shaped lugs or tongues t, t and t. By adjusting the position of the tongues t, t', t in the slots s, s', s any desired spacing of the flanges 6|, 62 may be obtained for compressing the band 50 to any desirable size, within of course the range of the device. It will be observed that the tongue t is longer than the tongues t on either side of it, the object of which is to prevent the sections 55 and 66 from easily falling apart. By making the tongue t of greater length a slight manipulation is necessary to separate the sections 65 and 66, thus avoiding accidental separation of these sections.

When the band 50 is to be applied to a piston and the rings thereof it is placed thereon with the ends 5| and 52 in overlapping relation so that the end 5I is confined between three lugs 56, 51 and 58. Then the wedge-plate (which has previously been adjusted to the right size) is disposed over the flanges 53 and 59 and slid downwardly thereon until the band has been drawn together so tightly that the piston rings are compressed so as to be entirely confined Within their grooves. It often happens that before the piston rings have beenl completely compressed within their grooves the wedge-plate 60 will have been slid a considerable distance downwardly on the l grooves.

anges 53 and 59 so that the ends 5I and 52 of the band are held together only at the lower part of their width. Obviously, the pressure of the rings at the top of the piston Would expand the upper edge of the band until it assumed a cone shape unless some means Were employed to prevent this. In this form of the device the lugs 55, 51 and 58 prevent the band from assuming such cone shape, because they prevent the coiling movement at the ends of the band to eiect such cone. The band is also provided With outwardly crimped portions 61 and 68 at its upper edge to insure that the band will not slip into the cylinder at any point when the piston is being pushed therein.

The provision or" the conning lugs to prevent the band from assuming a cone shape in both forms of my piston ring compressor is of considerable importance. Obviously if the band is not so held that it Will be unable to spread at its upper edge there is no assurance that the rings will be maintained compressed Within the If the rings are not so held the device does not perform the function for which it is intended. For this reason there should be no coning out of the band, but it should remain perfectly cylindrical during the time that the piston is being pushed into the cylinder.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A piston ring compressor comprising a band having its ends adapted for overlapping cooperation to form a cylinder, adjustable securing means engaging said overlapping ends, and confining elements on both overlapping portions of the band for holding the ends in parallelism under the radial pressure imposed by the compressed piston rings.

2. A piston ring compressor comprising a band having its ends adapted for overlapping cooperation to form a cylinder, adjustable securing means engaging said overlapping ends, confining elements on loo-th overlapping portions of the band for holding the -ends in parallelism under the radial pressure imposed by the compressed piston ring, and outwardly crimped portions in spaced relation on one lateral edge of .the band.

3. A piston ring compressor comprising a band having its ends adapted for overlapping cooperation to form a cylinder, securing means in proximity to said overlapping ends, and an applicator in combination with said band, said applicator having suitable devices for cooperating with the securing means to contract the band and compress the piston. rings, and circumferentially spaced cooperating elements on the band for holding the same cylindrical While being contracted.

4. A piston ring compressor comprising a band. having its ends adapted for overlapping cooperation to form a cylinder, adjustable securing means engaging said overlapping ends, and confining elements disposed in circumferentially spaced relation on one of the overlapping portions of the band for holding the other end in parallelism therewith under the radial pressure imposed by the compressed piston rings.

5. A piston ring compressor comprising a band having its ends adapted for overlapping cooperation to form a cylinder, securing means for said overlapping ends, and circumferentially spaced cooperating elements on the band for holding the same cylindrical When unequal radial pressure is applied to the margins of the band.

JOSEPH SUNNEN. 

